Jon Huntsman (R)

Candidate Summary, 2012 Cycle

Former Utah governor and ambassador to China

Huntsman, born in 1960, is a former Utah governor (2005-2009) and ambassador to China (2009-2011) under the Obama administration. On June 21, 2011, Huntsman formally announced his entry into the Republican presidential primary, doing so from Liberty State Park in New Jersey, where President Ronald Reagan launched his own run in 1980.

"I'm a candidate for the office of President of the United States of America," Huntsman said. "For the first time in our history, we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got. This, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and totally un-American."

Huntsman appeared poised to enter the GOP primary during the spring of 2011, tellingBloomberg, "We're moving in that direction. We've got about all the boxes checked: you've got the organizing box, you've got the fundraising box, you've got the boots on the ground box. Then you've got the family box, that is the last one. And we're about there, too. We'll probably have one more sit-down meeting this week, and then I think we'll be able to check that box."

Huntsman, the son of one of the nation's wealthiest men, Jon Huntsman Sr., who founded chemical manufacterer Huntsman Corporation. Jon Jr. is also a former ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush.

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